I making this a main topic thread such that everyone will see it, and hopefully, all will contribute.
As of today, Jan. 9, 2015, we are banning the site imgbox.com for hosting photos and particularly GIFs. The reason being is that it has become a highly malicious site like others such as imagevenue, etc, wherein once a photo or GIF is clicked upon, your browser is immediately redirected to a number of porn sites. I'm also getting virus warning from my AVG anti-virus software when imgbox images are clicked upon.
We need our members to make recommendations of sites that offer *embedded* GIFs using BBcode. That is, when someone sees the post, they also see the GIF image - not just a link to somewhere. Please post any sites of which you know where are members can upload and embed GIFs safely. I'll amend this post as we learn of others, then add them to our safe hosting thread, here:
APPROVED VIDEO & PHOTO FILE SHARING HOSTSThe following posts all use the same .gif never altering its size.
1.
imgur.comWhat it looks like when embedded (the image is non-clickable w/ redirect, but instead, can be directly copied from the forum)
2.
dumparump.comWhen you use dumparump, your animated .gif must be less than 2 MB. Once loaded, you will see a box
"Hotlink a clickable thumbnail on a Forum or Message Board", which is how we traditionally embed photos in our posts using dumparump. Copying that URL hotlink will show an embedded image of the .gif, as follows:
Unfortunately, dumparump prevents the actual animated gifs from being embedded in forums.
3.
uploadedit.comThis is similar to imgur.com as it embeds the animated gif into the post, however, with this site you can click on the embed gif. There are two BB codes provided for use in forums - use the top one
"Link for using image on forum (1)" 4.
Using a tumblr account:
Upload your gif to your tumblr account by clicking on the "photo" icon for uploading (it doesn't differentiate between .jpgs and .gifs). Click on "post". Once you see the animated .gif playing, if you have Firefox browser, you'll see "Copy Image Location", which you then click on. For Internet Explorer there's an added step - right click on the .gif, and in the menu box popup go to "Properties". You'll then see the URL address of the .gif printed out, which you must highlight and copy.
But before posting that link in your post, first click on the "img" icon in our forum above your posting window as shown here:
You'll then see "img" enclosed in two sets of [brakets] - the first set of brackets does not have a forward slash in front, the second one does. Paste the copied URL of the .gif image location between the two brackets (note that your cursor is automatically positioned between the brackets - just click on paste or Control - V). This is what you'll see once posted:
In fact, you can do the above for animated .gif posted on many Internet sites - just right click on that .gif on whatever web page it is shown then copy the image's url location. Put that link between the bracketed "img" boxes and it will appear embedded and animated within your post.
5. Photobucket
Like tumblr, Photobucket requires you to create a free account. Once created, you can upload your animated .gif. Like dumparump, Photobucket provides you the ability to copy the link in BB code for forums, which gives you this:
It should be noted, however, than when post a .gif that is hosted on an account you've created in Photobucket, the user's name will show within the URL address indicating it came from your hosted library whereas dumparump keeps that information anonymous. Thus, when creating accounts on tublr and Photobucket, use names and emails that are not tied to you personally such that personal information is not conveyed.